Nick Clegg will describe award as 'tribute to the people, not the institution'. Photograph: Sang Tan/AP

Nick Clegg will hail the sacrifices of earlier generations for helping to create an unprecedented period of peace in Europe when he represents Britain next Monday when the Nobel peace prize is awarded to the EU.

The deputy prime minister will attend the ceremony in Oslo after David Cameron decided in October to turn down the opportunity to rub shoulders with the leaders of France and Germany days before an EU summit.

Clegg will describe the award as a "tribute to the people, not the institution" when he attends the ceremony at which the prize will be presented to the three presidents of the EU: the commission president, José Manuel Barroso; the council president, Herman Van Rompuy; and the parliament president, Martin Schulz.

The leaders of the other three main EU powers in addition to Britain – Angela Merkel of Germany, François Hollande of France and Italy's Mario Monti – will all be in attendance. Clegg is expected to hold talks with some, if not all, of the leaders to lobby on behalf of the City of London before the next European summit which will take place three days after the Nobel ceremony.

Cameron indicated his unease at the prize, awarded as the EU grapples with the eurozone crisis, when he said that Nato had also helped keep the peace in Europe. Speaking after an EU summit in October, he said: "I think three of the possible five European presidents are going to Oslo ... I personally won't be going but I am sure there will be enough people to collect the prize."

Clegg will tread a careful line when he attends the ceremony at which the EU will be hailed for its role in making war in Europe "unthinkable". Amid fears that the event could fuel criticisms that the EU is elite and out of touch at a time when Greeks are struggling in the face of austerity measures imposed as the price of support from the eurozone and the IMF, Clegg will focus on people rather than institutions.

A source close to Clegg said: "For centuries, the idea of Europe and peace was a contradiction in terms. The fact that we have not been to war with our European neighbours for nearly 70 years now is a testament to the sacrifices of the generations that have gone before us and the hard work since.

"Nick sees this prize as a tribute to the people, not the institution. Coming from a family that has been bought together in Britain after suffering the horrors of both world wars in different parts of the globe, this has particular resonance for him. His family's history is intertwined with that of the process of peace in Europe.

"Nick will also be taking the opportunity to have a series of high-level conversations with other European leaders about the most pressing issues on the agenda, including banking reform and the EU budget."